Twin Ronin Warriors
by Strata's Stargazer
Summary: Five girls from America travel to Toyama with the intent to study and live there for a year. Instead, they meet five guys and find themselves pulled into a battle that isn't theirs, but still their destiny.
1. Chapter 1

**A/N:** Hi Ronin fans! So, this is a story I wrote years and _**years **_ago, starting in middle school. It's been finished for much longer, but I've only decided now to post it. It's the deal where you take it was as it is, all plot holes, my Mary Sue's, cultural errors from an eighth grader's knowledge, and idiosyncrasies that occur in my writing.

Please be kind and review if you read.

As it has been for years, since I first started writing, this is for Torrent's Rain, Wildfire Sky, and newly christened Halo's Dawn. In memory of the good days.

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_Ronin Warriors_

_Twin Ronin Warriors, Chapter 1: Welcome to Japan_

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"Next destination, Toyama. Next destination, Toyama."

Opening her eyes, Kelsey glanced around the train car that was empty except for her four companions, three of them sleeping since it was nearly three in the morning after their plane had been delayed in landing in Tokyo for an hour. Sitting up further, she glanced at the only other one not sleeping and saw her friend Jamie putting away the game she had been playing. Without saying anything the two went and woke up the others who sat up slowly, rubbing the sleep from their eyes. By the time the train came to a stop they were mostly awake and in a few minutes they were stepping out of the station to stare around the empty parking lot.

"So, Kelse. Where's the car at?" Jamie asked, shifting the bag around on her shoulder. Next to her, Kelsey dug through her purse, revealing her key chain and a piece of paper.

"Western parking lot," she said, glancing around. The others looked around before someone in the back spoke up.

"West is that way," Akari said softly and the other four glanced at her before nodding. Heading in the way she had pointed the five sighed when they spotted the car waiting for them and arrived to stare in wonderment.

"How did we get an SUV?" Rachel asked as they loaded up their bags. Most of their stuff had been shipped a week ahead to the rental they were staying in during the school year so each person had a backpack and a duffle with them. The SUV only had two rows but it was still comfortable between the five.

"Lots of bribing and money," Kelsey explained as she started the car and headed out of the parking lot. Next to her Jamie was reading the directions that would take them to their new residence for the next year. "It's costing a pretty penny but we're not paying. Our government is."

"All hail our government for paying for a vehicle we were granted to use," Cameron said from where she sat behind Jamie. "Can anyone read all the kanji?"

"That's a geisha house," Akari spoke next to her, having seen the neon sign Cameron had been staring at while they had been stopped at a light.

"Oh. That's informative," Jamie commented as they left the business area and headed into residential. A few more blocks and Kelsey pulled into the driveway next to a small two story house. When they stepped in to the house they found the light switch and started to wander around.

"Two single rooms and a bathroom up here!" Cameron called down from where she was upstairs with Rachel. Downstairs the other three came to the bottom and looked up.

"A single bedroom, a double bedroom, and a bathroom with utilities," Akari said and glanced at Kelsey and Jamie. "We will take the bottom if you guys want up top."

"Sounds…good," Rachel said, her sentence broken by a yawn. Taking the hint everyone headed into their new bedrooms and soon the house was dark.

sSs

In the morning Kelsey walked into the kitchen as the two showers in the house ran with Jamie and Akari showering. Cameron and Rachel were still sleeping, but there would be enough time to shower and change for school.

"School in March. In a skirt too," Kelsey muttered, staring down at the navy blue outfit she wore. However, having seen worse outfits online, she decided the knee length skirt and white buttoned-up collared shirt with an optional black sweater for when it got cold wasn't that bad. It was better than looking like a Sailor Moon reject. However, her mind wasn't on the outfit but on food since it had over twelve hours since she had eaten. "Airplane food. Just the thought is nasty."

"Do we even have food?" Cameron asked from the living room since an island separated the two. In the kitchen Kelsey glanced around before moving to the refrigerator and opening the door. Hanging her head at the empty space, she moved and opened the cabinets. "No food?"

"No food. And I have no idea where to get some," Kelsey said, going to sit on the couch next to Cameron as Akari emerged from upstairs. "You should go shower before all the hot water is gone. And get Rachel up before you go in. Time's running out."

"We only went to sleep three hours ago!" Jamie yelled down the hall as she walked into the room she shared with Kelsey. Upstairs Cameron appeared from Rachel's room and went into the bathroom while a sleep rumpled Rachel appeared from her room wearing the clothes she had worn the day before.

"How long till school starts?"

"An hour, but we have to be there early to get our information secured," Kelsey said and Rachel nodded, heading back into her room. Alone again, Kelsey sighed and got up and went to her bedroom to find Jamie lying on her bed. "Don't go to sleep."

"Why not? And whose idea was it to come the day before school started?" Jamie asked though she sat up on her bed to kick her backpack.

"We had to wait since we had to finish last year early by three months so we could make it over to start when they start here," Kelsey said, sitting on her bed to go through her bag. Remembering something, she glanced up as she zipped her bag and sat it on the floor with a push. "We have no food."

"Serious? But I'm so hungry! It's been so long since we last ate," Rachel said from the doorway, causing the two to look at her

"If everyone gets done we can go out and hopefully find a place," Kelsey replied and Rachel headed into the bathroom across the hall. Only a few seconds later the water turned on while the water upstairs turned off once Cameron finished. "We should get ready so we can get something to eat. I think we are all hungry."

"Sounds good. Think there's a good McDonald's around?"

"There is one on the way to school," Akari said, walking into the room. In her hand was a small pocket-sized book and she held it up casually. "Travel guide I found. Has everything in it."

"Great. Any grocery store we can hit for food since we don't have any?" Kelsey asked and Akari nodded.

"Sorry, but don't you think it is cool that we can go halfway around the world and still get our regular greasy food?" Jamie asked and Kelsey laughed.

"We aren't going every day," she said and Jamie nodded though there was still a happy gleam in her eye. "Go torment Rachel so we can go and eat."

"I'm going to change! Give me five minutes and we can go!" Rachel said as she ran upstairs.

"Ten!" Cameron yelled as the others went to the living room to wait. Soon everyone was ready and they left the house to pile into the SUV.

sSs

"I didn't catch any of that. I think my brain is still asleep," Cameron commented as the five left the office of Ha'na High School. More students had filed in when they had been inside and the halls were noisy with the sound of conversation. Glancing next to her, Cameron laughed to see Rachel hanging off of Jamie with her eyes closed. "We should have gotten coffee."

"That sounds so good," Kelsey muttered, glancing at her schedule. "Why can't we get one year with no PE? I would pay for no PE."

"You would pay for no school, if it was up to you," Jamie said, shrugging Rachel's head off her shoulder once again.

"Who wouldn't? Freedom from homework," Rachel said as she stretched, staring at Jamie's shoulder. "You make a great pillow."

"Thanks, I try so hard for you," Jamie muttered as she glanced at her watch. "So it's only seven-forty and school doesn't start until eight-ten."

"It should be pretty warm outside about now. We can check out the layout," Akari said and the others nodded. Going out the front entrance they found the small courtyard packed full of other students who were talking with each other in rapid conversations.

"This sure is a big school," Cameron commented as the five stood at the top of the stairs. "Where to start first?"

"Did I put my school shoes in the car?" Kelsey asked and the rest turned to see her staring at the pair of tennis shoes she wore instead of high-heels like the rest of them. "I don't think I grabbed them."

"Nope, cause I remember seeing them on the couch where you set them down," Rachel said glancing around. "You walked right past them on our way out."

"And you didn't say anything?" Akari asked and Rachel grinned.

"I wanted Kelse to be my guinea pig for how loose the dress code is. Don't see that many tennis shoes around here on many feet," Rachel commented.

"Don't be too happy. I kick harder in tennis shoes and you are just screaming for a good kick," Kelsey said and saw Rachel's smile fade. "But, I'll save that until we get home."

"So compassionate, young one," Jamie muttered and Kelsey flashed a grin before glancing around. "So, where to?"

"I heard some people saying there's a soccer game going on," Cameron said and Akari nodded next to her.

"It's at the sports field. I bet we can still catch it," Akari said and the five went right where the sports field was. They passed the soccer field and found a large crowd surrounding the field. "Large crowd."

"And they said sumo was the big sport over here," Rachel deadpanned and Cameron laughed softly as they found a spot to watch. It was five against five on full field and the ball was heading in their direction from the farther end.

"How can you tell them apart? They have on the same uniform," Akari said as she shrugged off her bag.

"Such a shame. No skins, but the guys are on the skinny side," Jamie said and Kelsey laughed next to her.

"I wouldn't mind some skins, but I wouldn't say they were skinny," Kelsey said as most of the guys reached eyesight. After three passes the team with the ball scored and they watched as the ball was put into play again. "I'm bored with it. Anyone else want to keep going?"

"I'll go. Never liked the game," Cameron said, grabbing her bag again.

"I'm staying. There's a blond on the field," Rachel said and Jamie claimed to remain herself. Akari hauled up her own bag and the three leaving moved back to the school together as the game continued.

Entering the school through another entrance, Cameron glanced over at Akari who was on her left. "So, you're from Texas, right?"

"Yeah, I spent most of my life there. I'm in the same district as Jamie was, but different school," Akari explained, shifting her bag. "Both of my parents were from Japan so I seized up the opportunity to come here for the year."

"That's cool. So you must know the language and the culture pretty well," Kelsey said and Akari nodded. "First time here?"

"No, I lived in Japan until I was four, but I can't remember a lot about it. I moved to the States soon after," Akari explained before the three paused as the bell rang. The other students around them took for their classes and the three split ways since Kelsey and Rachel were in a different class than the other three were.

"See you at lunch!" Kelsey said before heading up to the second floor to where her first set of classes would take place. Glancing at her schedule Kelsey read she had language, math, science, and physical education in the morning and economy, history, and home economics in the afternoon. Reaching the classroom she spotted a set of open chairs in the back and a few off to the side. After glancing down at her tennis shoe clad feet she went to the back, sitting down as Rachel entered the room. Coming down to sit in front of Kelsey, Rachel sighed as her head hit the desk with a thud, resulting in stares from around the class room. "Care to lift your head up? You're getting stares."

"Don't. Care. Tired," Rachel muttered into her desk and Kelsey shook her head.

"You're tired? I'm the one that had to get up first," Kelsey told her.

"But I got the cold shower since everyone else used the heat," Rachel retorted and Kelsey laughed, surprised to hear other chuckles join in. Rachel noticed too and lifted her head to stare to where the other laughs had come from. One was from a guy next to Kelsey and other from in front of him.

"Is she always like this?" the guy next to Kelsey asked, pushing away a stray strand of blue hair.

"Sadly yes. It comes with caffeine deprivation," Kelsey explained seriously and the guy laughed again.

"Same with him, but he wouldn't admit it," he responded, jerking this thumb to the blond in front of him.

"I _can_ hear," the blond replied, not looking up from where he was leafing through a notebook. Next to Kelsey Rachel collapsed against her desk again, burying her head in her arms as she muttered about lights.

"She's slightly anti-social in the morning," Kelsey said, turning to face the guy again. "Oh, Kelsey McCarthy. That's Rachel Garrison."

"He's Date Seiji. I'm Hashiba Touma," the guy responded in kind, using Japanese for the time and held out his hand to shake hers. "Or Sage and Rowen if you care."

Grabbing his hands, Kelsey blinked as she suddenly found herself surrounded by nothing but the Earth floating below her. Blinking again she found herself back in the school a word softly escaping her lips, "Strata?"

"What?" the two guys asked in surprise and Kelsey shook her head, trying to shake the image from her eyes. "What did you say?"

"Huh? Oh…I'm not sure, sorry. Must be tired because of the trip, we just got in last night," she said honestly, removing her hand from Rowen's. Under the desk she rubbed her hand unconsciously before looking up to see the guys sharing a look before Rowen turned to her, the past minute seemingly forgotten.

"You two ladies exchange students?"

"For the year."

"That would explain the tennis shoes," the blond said and Kelsey was reminded of her footwear.

"No one will mind," Rowen told her after sending his friend a narrowed look.

"Yeah, well, she saw me leave my shoes and decided not to comment," Kelsey said, jerking a thumb towards Rachel.

"Guinea pig," came the muffled reply and Kelsey reached over to swiftly hit her on the back of her head. "What was that for?"

"Because I could. The teacher is here too," Kelsey grinned as Rachel straightened up quickly. In truth the teacher had just walked in so they rose with the rest of the class to give the proper greeting before sitting again.

_So far so good. Only six more hours left before we can leave..._

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**Ending A/N: **I do have every intention of posting every chapter that is written up over the next month or so. However, please feel free to comment and review if you like. I appreciate all.

**Disclaimer:** Is it BANDAI? I honestly don't know who owns YST, but sadly it isn't me.


	2. Chapter 2

**A/N: **Damn thing is written and I still can't get it posted. Eff.

Thanks for the reviews!

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_Twin Ronin Warriors_

_Chapter 2_

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"Why can't we go home yet?" Rachel asked as she sat down on the steps near the front of the school. Akari and Cameron were with her since Kelsey and Jamie had yet to appear from within the school. Most of the other students had already left since school had been released ten minutes ago.

"Cause Kelsey has the keys to the car or we would ditch them. That, and she and Jamie are the only two that have approved licenses over here." Cameron explained again, sighing. "Anyways, they're only five minutes late. Maybe their class got held behind."

"It's the first day of school," Rachel reminded her. "What can keep them? I want to get to the house and sleep."

"God, so do I," Cameron said and glanced up. "Here they come."

"Seriously?"

"Yeah," Akari said, rising from where she had been sitting on the steps next to Rachel. The three turned to watch Kelsey and Jamie emerge along with two guys, talking quietly. Kelsey and the guy with blue hair were blushing slightly while Jamie and the guy with black hair laughed. "What's so funny?"

"Kelsey and Rowen burned water," Jamie told them, grinning. Kelsey narrowed her eyes and took a swipe at her friend that escaped out of range quickly.

"I didn't burn it, Rowen did. And we burned the pot, not the water," Kelsey said in a huff, crossing her arms. Rachel laughed happily as the group made their way to the car with the two guys still with them.

"I should warn you Rowen's a bad cook then," the guy with black hair told Kelsey who sighed, shaking her head.

"I am not, Ryo!" Rowen said, glaring slightly. "I cook all the time."

"Take out is not cooking. You can't even cook a frozen pizza," Ryo told him and Kelsey laughed before turning to Jamie.

"I told you take out isn't cooking."

"But I spend money. It should count," Jamie explained.

"Exactly my point! Anyway, that pot was a fire hazard to begin with," Rowen claimed as they reached the parking lot.

"Then why did you cook with it?" Cameron asked and everyone laughed as Rowen paused as he tried to come up with an answer. "My point is made."

"Way to go, Cam," Rachel said, high-fiving with Cameron while smiling. Turning to Rowen she stared at him before frowning. "I thought you were smart or something."

"Except in the kitchen he is," Ryo told them, shaking his head. "Why do you think he came with a fire extinguisher?"

"I was wondering about that," Kelsey said thoughtfully. "I mean he was the only one in class with one. And we used it on the first day."

"How about I stick with mixing then?" Rowen asked and Kelsey nodded, sighing. She would probably still have to watch him. "Hey, I can mix dry ingredients!"

"Only when someone watches you, bud. I swear I still am missing some of my taste buds after that casserole you made a month ago," someone said and the group glanced up to three guys standing around a van a few slots away from their SUV. The speaker was a burly guy with ash blue hair that was sitting next to a guy with light brown-red hair and he shuddered slightly. "I mean, how can you confuse salt and flower?"

"That is more than enough proof. You get to stir," Kelsey told Rowen. "If we have to eat what we make, I do want it edible."

"Sounds good to me!" Rowen said happily and Kelsey sighed while the others around them laughed.

"Can we go yet?" two people asked and the girls turned to stare at Rachel while the guys stared at Sage who was leaning against the van.

"We do need to get grocery shopping done," Akari reminded the girls.

"Can I come?" the burly guy asked, a happy look on his face.

"No Kento. We have to get to Mia's anyway," the brunette said.

"Aw, common Cye!"

"Cye's right, Kento. Anyway, you'd eat all their food before they could get it home," Ryo said and the four dragged Kento away who was whining while waving. Going to their car the girls climbed in and shared a look.

"Weird guys."

sSs

The next morning was not as bad as the day before. Since they now had food, everyone was able to get breakfast beforehand though all of them ate cold cereal. They also took the subway to school since it was less hassle than taking the car and cost them less money and they arrived forty minutes before school was started so they occupied one of the tables in front of the school outside.

"Um, guy with brown briefcase," Rachel said and the others followed her gaze to one of the male students walking in.

"Nerd," Jamie declared and Kelsey nodded in agreement.

"Take away the glasses and fix the hair, then he might be acceptable," Rachel mused.

"I like the glasses," Cam declare.

"True," Akari claimed.

"All right," Jamie said, staring around. "Duffle bag."

"Buff, but probably lacking wits," Kelsey said and Cameron laughed. "True, right?"

"Definitely," Rachel agreed and Akari nodded.

"Oh! The one surrounded by girls," Cameron said and the five glanced around.

"Aw! Cute!" That was greeted by a round of nods and Akari glanced around. From her guess they had been playing this game for nearly fifteen minutes and had gone through half of the male population of the school, including the teachers.

"Hey, Akari, your turn," Kelsey said and Akari glanced over at the four.

They were a weird group, but they were a close group. From what she had heard, they had all met each other in middle school and had remained in contact even after being split up in high school. But, they were friendly and Akari was all ready feeling a friendship with all of them.

"Oh, all right," she said and stared around the courtyard. They were actually running low on guys as more students went inside the school, so there were only a few guys out to pick. "Ah, no sweater and black briefcase."

"I'd date him," Rachel claimed, nodding her head as the five watched him walk by. They continued to watch him until he went to the front of the school and approach another guy that was waiting there and stared as the two kissed quickly. They all started to laugh as they left the happy couple and waited for Kelsey to choose her pick.

"All right. Let's see how good Rachel's judgment is again," Kelsey said, staring around before spotting something. "Hm. Blond hair, surrounded by others."

"Don't like blondes," Jamie said and Akari nodded in agreement after spotting Sage.

"Possible, but I'd never date him," Cameron said casually as Rachel remained silent. "Rachel?"

"Passable, but probably gay again," she said and the five laughed as the group of guys walked closer.

"And what are you five laughing at this early in the morning?" Kento asked as the group stopped in front of them. Everyone had met the day before as they shared the same PE class through some odd coincidence, as well as several classes.

"Nothing special," Jamie said, grinning, causing the girls to laugh again.

sSs

That weekend the five girls entered into a gym they had found earlier in the week when they had started to explore Toyama. It was a fairly large gym with three pools and the five had decided they would spend the morning there before continuing to explore Toyama while they still had some free time. The five met up at the pools and went to shower area to hang up their towels and wash themselves off before entering the pools.

"We're going to swim laps," Rachel said and left with Jamie and Akari with her as they headed towards the appropriate pool. The three pools were set up for different uses to accommodate a wide range of people: one for free swim, one for laps and things like that, and one for diving.

Cameron and Kelsey made their way to the diving pool and looked up at the diving ramps, one of the main reasons they had signed up for the service.

"Oh, this is going to be great," Cameron said and Kelsey nodded in agreement.

"Come on. Which level?" she asked as she and Cameron started to climb up the ladders.

"Uh, second level, sequenced," Cameron said and Kelsey nodded. The two climbed off onto the two matching piers and looked down at the undisturbed water.

"This should be fun, at school they would never let us do this," Kelsey said as she and Cameron got ready.

As the two got ready Rachel, Jamie, and Akari all stopped swimming laps and sat on the edge of the pool to watch their friends. A few seconds later the Ronins walked into the pool room and spotted the girls at the edge of the pool, sharing a look of surprise.

"Why are you guys here?"

Rachel turned and looked at Sage and told him, "We got a membership here."

"What are you watching?" Cye asked and Jamie pointed up to the high-dives where Kelsey and Cameron were.

"Them," Akari said. "They were both sequenced divers at their old school or at least that's what Rachel told me."

Rachel nodded and said, "They won almost all their meets." Cye nodded and the Ronins also watched and soon other people in the poolrooms joined them.

Kelsey looked down and smiled telling Cameron, "Look, we got admirers."

Cameron laughed and said, "Can't be as bad. At least we aren't competing against people."

Kelsey nodded in agreement and the two got ready to dive, turning so their backs were to the pool. They jumped off the boards and did one and a half rotations in mid-air before diving into the water at the exact same time. They came up after a while and swam together to where the others stood.

"How long have you guys been diving?" Cye asked as the two left the pool.

"Since ninth grade," Kelsey said ringing out her long braid. "We joined at the same time."

"Do you also race?" Rowen asked and Kelsey shook her head.

"Cameron does but as good as I dive I don't do well in water," she said.

"Hey, Cye," Cameron asked. "Do you swim?"

Kento laughed and wrapped an arm around his best friend. "Are you kidding? This guy was the school's swim team captain," he said and Cye blushed.

"Kento…" he said and shrugged off his friend's arm.

"Want to race?" Cameron said and Cye looked at her surprised.

"Me? Uh sure, why not," he said and went to change.

"Come on guys," Kelsey said and the girls made their way over to the lap pools followed by the guys.

Soon Cye joined them and the eight left over split along the pool to watch. Kelsey and Rowen were at the starting point, Rachel and Sage where they would turn around, and the other four split along the length of the pool.

"On your mark," Kelsey and Rowen said. "Get set…GO!"

Cameron and Cye dived into the pool and started stroking a few seconds later when they reached the top. Soon they were turning around and started back towards Rowen and Kelsey. They were neck-to-neck and they touched at the same time.

Cameron took a few breaths then told Cye, "You slowed down at the end."

Cye climbed out of the pool and told her, "So did you."

Kelsey reached down and helped Cameron up and made their way towards the others waited.

"That was fast," Jamie said as the four joined the others. Cameron shrugged and looked at the clock that hung in the poolroom. It was already past noon and they had all eaten breakfast rather early so she figured they were all hungry.

"We should get going if we want to get things done and eat," she said and the others nodded.

"Where are you going?" Kento asked and Akari shrugged.

"Don't know. We were just going to look around Toyama since we haven't had the chance yet," she said.

Kento looked at the others and said, "Why don't we show you around and we can still take you out for pizza."

The girls looked at each other and Jamie said, "Okay, but don't you have things to do here?"

Ryo shook his head and said, "Cye just dragged us along. We don't usually do anything here."

"Okay, then how about we meet in five minutes out front?" Rachel said but then corrected herself. "Ten minutes, Jamie needs to dry her braids."

"Die!" Jamie said and started to chase after Rachel who bolted towards the girl's changing room.

"Ten minutes," Kelsey said and she and the other two followed Jamie and Rachel.

sSs

Ten minutes later the Ronins waited outside the main lobby for the girls.

"Ten minutes are up," Kento complained and sat down on one of the chairs.

"Guys, hurry up!" they heard and soon Kelsey walked out of the changing room dressed in jean bell-bottoms and a black shirt that had a silver scythe on it and a pair of black shoes.

"Sorry about being a little late," she said and dropped the duffel bag she was carrying. "They're taking longer than usual."

"Are not!" Rachel said as she and the other walked out, all in jeans and T-shirts themselves.

"Come on, let's go eat," Jamie said and the others nodded in agreement.

"We'll follow you to the pizza place," Kelsey said and Kento nodded telling her, "We'll go a place downtown so we can just walk around and not have to drive."

"Great!" Kelsey said and they all got ready to leave.

A few minutes later they pulled up to a pizza place and walked in together. They were seated quickly and after eating through a few pizzas the group paid and walked out.

"So, where to?" Akari asked and looked around the vast city.

"Hey, why don't we split up?" Kento suggested and the others nodded in agreement. Kelsey looked around and spotted a store across the street.

"Oh, bookstore!" she said happily and everybody groaned including the all Ronins besides Rowen.

"Guess those two will go together," Sage said and the others nodded in agreement. Soon the rest were divided up: Sage and Rachel; Akari and Kento; Jamie and Ryo; and Cameron and Cye.

"Okay, meet up here at 4?" Cye asked giving them two hours to wonder around. The others nodded and split up, Kelsey dragging Rowen to the bookstore while the others went in other directions.

sSSs

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**A/N:** Done! Done I tell you!

**Disclaimer:** Oh Rowen, if only. I'd be more than happy to teach you the difference between a man and a woman (hahaha!).


	3. Chapter 3

**A/N: **I know.

_Twin Ronin Warriors_

_Chapter 2_

* * *

Kelsey and Rowen walked into the bookstore as the others broke into groups and headed out. Inside, Kelsey went right to the section that read 'Japanese History' and looking at the large amounts of books that were there she sighed happily. "This is so much better than any library back home."

Rowen followed her and asked, "You like books on ancient Japan?"

Kelsey nodded and pulled a book down while telling him, "I've been reading books on it for about four years. I've always found interest in the old samurai."

Rowen nodded and told her, "I have several books if you want to borrow them."

Kelsey looked up at him surprised and blue eyes met blue before she looked away blushing.

"That would be great," she said before suddenly spotting a book on the upper shelf. Reaching up, she pulled it down, noticing in surprise the age of it and that dusty cover.

"Odd, the rest of the books seem in great condition," she muttered, looking at the cover. The letters were faded and it took her several minutes to translate it. "The Dynasty?"

Rowen looked up in surprise from the book he had been pursuing, asking, "What?"

Kelsey glanced at him and told him, "That's what the book is called."

Rowen looked at the worn book and didn't notice anything odd about it as he flipped through it briefly before handing it back.

"I'm going to get this," Kelsey decided and walked up to the counter followed by Rowen who also had a book. The woman who worked at the store looked up when they stepped up to pay, her dark hair pulled into a tight pun and eyes hidden behind a pair of thick glasses. She looked at the book and tried to find a price tag but the book didn't have it or a bar to scan.

"And you say you found it here?" she asked still looking over it before shrugging. "I've never seen it before. You can have it."

Kelsey shook her head and said, "But I want to pay something for it. I don't want to take it for free."

The lady shrugged and said, "Okay, how about a thousand yen?"

Kelsey nodded, handing her the money before waiting for Rowen to pay for his book and the two left the bookstore. For a few seconds after their departure, the clerk watched the door before smiling coldly and disappearing from the shop in a bright flash of light.

sSs

"Is Toyama always this… deserted?" Rachel asked softly as she and Sage walked through the park in the middle of Toyama.

"No," Sage said, looking around with a slight frown. They were deep enough into the park he couldn't see the streets, but he noticed even the sound of the constant traffic was missing. "It's usually packed with people, especially on Sunday."

"Why don't we look around town then?" Rachel asked and Sage nodded, so they headed out of the park only to pause when they reached the street.

"Something is wrong," Sage said, looking around the deserted street. There was nothing – no people, no cars. It was like the real world had just disappeared.

"Rachel, Sage! That you?" someone asked and the two turned to see Jamie and Ryo run towards them.

"Yeah, why are you guys here?" Rachel asked as the two stopped next to them.

"The town, it's deserted," Ryo said and sent a look at Sage. He figured Ryo would also notice this was similar to how Tokyo had appeared four years ago, so they would both have to be on their guards with the girls with them.

"We should try to find the others," Jamie said and the others nodded in agreement. Ryo concentrated for a second then pointed west.

"Cye and Cameron are in that direction," he said.

"How do you know that?" Rachel asked, confused.

"The aquarium is over there," Ryo and Sage said together as the four took off.

sSs

Leaving the store they had gone in to browse through, Akari was laughing at a story Kento was telling her when they both looked around.

"Wonder where everyone's at," Kento commented, stepping into the empty street to look around. Moving to join him, Akari looked up at the sky before frowning.

"They're coming."

"What?" Kento asked and also stopped. "Who's coming?"

Shaking her head, Akari watched as the sky darkened and filled with clouds before glancing at Kento. "We have to find the others."

"The others, why?" he asked, confused.

Before he could ask anything else, he heard the sound of heavy footsteps that rapped against the cement of the sidewalks and streets.

"Oh man, I know that sound!" Kento said in surprise and watched as Dynasty soldiers suddenly filled the streets, surrounding him and Akari without any warning. "What the hell are these guys doing here?"

"Kento, get down," Akari said behind him and Kento turned towards her to stare in surprise. Akari had her hands clasped together and they were glowing a faint orange color as pure energy jumped around them like lightning.

"Hey, what are you – "

"Duck!" she ordered and Kento hit the ground as she released the energy at the armored goons behind him. On impact it sent the hoard to the ground and Kento slowly straightened as the wisps that represented the spirits escaped the now empty armor.

"Come on, there will be more coming," Akari said and Kento nodded.

"Uh, yeah. Hey, how did you do that?" Kento asked and Akari paused before shaking her head.

"Later."

"But – "

"Later!" she insisted and Kento sighed, but let the issue drop as they ran through the streets in search of the others.

sSs

"Hey, Rowen?" Kelsey asked and waved a hand in front of his face. "You okay?"

"Huh? Oh, yeah," he said as the energy faded. He could have sworn he just felt a large amount of energy released that felt like the Dynasty somewhere in town.

"Great, but I think we should find the others," Kelsey said, looking around the bare street they were standing in that had been packed with people when they had entered the book store. "Something is wrong."

Rowen nodded and grabbed her hand, leading her through the streets.

"Going somewhere?" someone asked and Rowen turned to see a large group of Dynasty soldiers standing behind him and Kelsey.

"Uh, Rowen," Kelsey asked. "Please tell me these are friends of yours."

"Sorry," he said. "Can't do that."

"Great," she said and gasped as someone grabbed her shoulder from behind. She turned and stared right into the eyes of another armored figure.

"Ah, so you are one," it hissed, eyes red in the shadows of its helmet, and Kelsey frowned.

"One what? And please let go of me before I hurt you." The monster didn't respond as it started to pull her away from Rowen and Kelsey glared at it. "Hey, I said let go!"

Bringing up her leg Kelsey delivered a swift kick to its side, successful in making it let her go. Pivoting on her foot, she swung her leg out again and sent the monster crashing against the building behind them, where it collapsed to the ground as what looked to be a wisp of black hair escaped from the helmet. Smiling in triumph – and thankful for remembering her karate from when she was a kid – she turned to Rowen only to find him surrounded by even more armored goons and wearing what appeared to be blue and white body armor.

"Well, this just turned freaky," she sighed.

sSSs

* * *

**Ending A/N: **Some edits! I can't help it - I need to re-write the parts that make me cringe. Chapter 4 out soon.

**Disclaimer: **Cye – who is currently hanging in my friend's bathroom – wishes for me to tell you Bandai owns YST. And Kento owns his Milkball sweater because, really…who would want to?


	4. Chapter 4

**A/N: **See, I can be a good adult and post twice in a week! Hell, I even did it on the same day!

_Twin Ronin Warriors_

_Chapter 4_

* * *

"Kelsey!" Turning from watching Rowen, Kelsey watched as Akari and Kento ran towards her down the street. Kento was wearing something similar to Rowen's funny body armor, only in orange rather than blue, and ran to join his friend while Akari joined her.

"Akari, do you have any idea what's going on?" Kelsey asked and Akari nodded.

"Somewhat," she said and Kelsey gaped at her. "I'll explain later."

While Kento and Rowen had been fighting the Dynasty soldiers more had appeared and made their ways towards Akari and Kelsey.

"Ah, shit," Kelsey said backing up into the dead-end alley way behind them.

"Come with us," one said and reached for her.

"Not on your life!" Kelsey yelled and kicked him, sending him into the other soldiers behind it causing the mist to rise as several were destroyed. Akari went over and picked up a staff that on the ground and tossed Kelsey a hand held scythe which she gladly took, however awkward it felt.

"Man, they're stronger than before!" Kento panted as he punched one in the face.

"No kidding," Rowen said ducking a punch and kicking the soldier in the face, causing it to fall to the ground as an empty shell. "I think we might have to get into armor. Hopefully the girls will keep quiet, 'cause it looks like they're the only ones around to see it."

"Man, I hope you're right," Kento said and grabbed his armor orb. "Armor of Hardrock, Tao Gi!"

His armor appeared and he grabbed his naginate before launching himself back at the Dynasty soldiers. Rowen took the hint to suit up and grabbed his own armor orb.

"Armor of Strata, Tao Inochi!" he called and his armor appeared too not noticing as across the street Kelsey suddenly gasped as pain exploded through her head making her vision red.

"Kelsey!" Akari cried and tried to reach her but was stopped by more soldiers while another soldier grabbed Kelsey who couldn't fight back.

"Rowen!" Akari cried drawing Rowen's attention. "They got Kelsey!"

Without hesitating Rowen grabbed an arrow and shot the soldier that was holding Kelsey. As the spirit within escaped the armor collapsed under its own weight, pinning Kelsey to the ground underneath it. Relieved for the moment, Akari could then only stare in surprise when she noticed Kelsey was covered in a pulsing blue light.

sSs

Ducking a blow from a Dynasty soldier, Ryo spun and shoved one of his swords through the armor. Pulling out the katana the armor fell to the ground as the spirit left it. Across the street Sage and Cye were working on keeping the soldiers away from the three girls when the soldiers fell back and started into town.

"That's were Rowen and Kento are!" Cye realized and instantly the guys chased after the soldiers.

Staring after them, Cameron, Jamie, and Rachel were quiet before Cameron finally asked, "Did they forget us?"

"Guess so," Jamie said. "But I think we should follow them."

The other two nodded in agreement, not knowing if the creepy armored soldiers would come back, and they started after the boys. They hadn't gone more than a block when they ran into another group of the soldiers and they stopped as several weapons were readied and pointed at them.

"Thunder Bolt Cut!" they heard someone yell and girls watched as a flash of lightening cut through the armors like they were made of paper.

"Come on, we have to reach the others," was all Sage said as he lowered his sword while the destroyed armors slowly collapsed to the ground. Nodding, the girls kept close as they followed him through town before finally arriving to where the others were.

What they found was complete chaos.

Ryo, Rowen, Kento, and Cye were all fighting off soldiers from getting to Akari and Kelsey, who was pinned beneath one of the armors.

"Her aura," Sage gasped, staring at Kelsey.

"Aura?" Rachel asked and looked at Kelsey again, noticing she was glowing a faint blue. "What is that!"

Separating, the three girls ran towards Akari and Kelsey while Sage joined his friends.

"Get this thing off me!" Kelsey cried trying to get out from under the armor. The other girls lifted off the dead soldier and Kelsey got up staggering.

Turning to Akari she grabbed her and asked, "What the hell am I covered in?"

Akari struggled against her angry friend saying, "It's your aura."

"My WHAT?" Kelsey asked shaking Akari only to be pried off by Jamie and Rachel.

"Hey! Calm down," Jamie said and Kelsey closed her eyes, taking deep breaths as the others watched in fascination as her aura matched her breathing, making it ripple around her. Akari looked around the area they were standing in then reached down and picked a dark blue ball.

She tossed it to Kelsey who caught it and stared at it.

"What is this?" she asked.

"I'm guessing it contains you armor. For some reason you got one. All you need to do now is call upon it," Akari said and Kelsey looked at her in confusion.

"Call what? What do you…Hey! Where did everyone go?" she yelled when she saw that she was suddenly alone. She turned around when she heard the sound of chiming metal and blinked at the person standing behind her. "Who are you?"

"Strata, you bear the virtue of death," the man said. "Death is never an ending, but rather a continuation of the soul's journey. To call upon your armor say: 'Armor of Strata, Tao Seikyo'."

"What?" Kelsey asked. "And why did you call me Strata?"

"You must help the original Ronins with their renewed fight against Talpa," the figure explained, looking under the hat rim to show a pair of blue-green eyes framed by long auburn hair.

"Who's Talpa?" Kelsey asked, calming down as she stared at the guy. She couldn't feel any kind of threat coming from him, which after the attacking armors helped a lot.

"You have a book called the Dynasty, read it," the man instructed. "And be prepared to help your friends when they receive their armors."

Kelsey blinked as a bright light came at her then found herself back in the street, fighting still going on behind her. Looking at the blue ball a kanji appeared: Seikyo.

"Well, let's see if the guy's right," she muttered wrapping her hand around the ball as she remembered how the guy told her to call her armor. "Armor of Strata, Tao Seikyo!"

She became surrounded by the same dark light she had just been in and looked down to see her body incased in the same body armor she had first Rowen in, though hers was dark blue at the joints and black for the remainder. Moving her hand through movements that seemed oddly familiar she watched as dark blue energy wrapped around her hands that were clasped together. The petals piled on the shell and formed another layer of armor while her hand reached out, gathering another pile of petals which transformed into a helmet that she put on her head, a face-mask covering most of her face. A large scythe appeared and she grabbed it, twirling it around before lowering it to the ground.

She reappeared in the regular world and watched as her friends stepped away in surprise at the sudden appearance of her armor. Wondering how to get rid of the facemask, she blinked as it automatically disappeared before turning to the soldiers. She could feel energy humming throughout her body and even though she had never fought before, let alone with a scythe, she was ready to go.

"Yo, freakazoids!"

At her yell the soldiers turned towards her and one hissed, "Strata has received her armor."

"Yeah, well if you want it come and get it!" Kelsey yelled grabbing her scythe. A large amount of soldiers came at her while others stayed with the Ronins keeping them busy and away from the girls.

Kelsey twirled the scythe then brought it above her head to yell, "Dead Star Shower!"

Bringing the scythe down in an angle, she felt a large amount of energy shoot out through her body and out of the scythe to hit the soldiers, blasting them to pieces. Kelsey stared in shock then looked at the scythe.

"Man, you pack a punch."

She looked at the other soldiers left and feeling more confident, asked with a smirk, "Care to try?"

One motioned and the soldiers started to retreat moving towards a portal that formed.

"I don't think so," Kelsey muttered twirling the scythe again. She felt the same rush of energy through her body and out, killing the soldiers and sending the debris into the portal, which closed soon after.

Lowering her scythe, she exhaled before closing her eyes as the world seemed to spin around her. Suddenly exhausted, she collapsed onto the sidewalk, hearing her scythe hit the ground next to her with a dull thud. Closing her eyes, she didn't see the rest of the soldiers the guys had been fight retreat, leaving the street eerily quiet in their wake.

"Kelsey?" Akari asked approaching her slowly. "You okay?"

Lifting her head to stare at Akari with dull eyes, Kelsey asked, "What the hell is happening Akari? And what am I wearing?"

"I'll explain later," Akari promised. "And if you want to get rid of the armor just think it off."

Kelsey followed her suggestion and soon she was back in her regular clothing. She stood up slowly and stared at her friends.

"Let's go," she said softly and picked up the bag that contained the book the guy had talked about.

The five were moving away when Ryo said, "We need to talk."

Kelsey turned to look at the five guys and shook her head.

"Listen, I don't have a clue what's going on, or what it has to do with you," Kelsey told them. "And at the moment I don't really care. The guy said to read the book and I'll do that. I don't know about afterwards so until then, just leave us alone. Please."

"Kelsey – " Rowen started but stopped when Ryo reached out to stop him, shaking his head.

"Do what she asks," Ryo said softly before frowning. "We can start our own digging on why the Dynasty is back, and why there is a second Strata armor."

"Feels like bad news is headin' our way," Kento muttered next to Cye as the Ronins watched the girls disappear around the corner before leaving the still empty Toyama.

sSSs

* * *

**Ending A/N:** I added in more Rowen at the end – it's for better character development! And holy shit – I have armor!

Hey, Torrent's Rain: this website now allows "book covers". Can you make me one for this story – I'm thinking the five (ten, in this case) armor balls, either in two circles or one. I'll see if I can find the original kanji I used to pull the female armor virtues.

**Disclaimer:** I would not have to steal pictures from someone's artbooks if I owned this series.


End file.
